Cumming residents will soon see two new faces around city hall, with Cumming City Council posts 1 and 2 candidates defeating their incumbents Tuesday night.

Post 1 incumbent Chuck Welch, who was first elected in a special election 2015 to fill former councilman Rupert Sexton’s unexpired term, lost narrowly to his opponent, Chad Crane, with preliminary numbers coming in at 438 to 441, respectively.

Post 2 Incumbent Quincy Holton, a 48-year veteran of the city council, also lost to his opponent, Jason Evans, who currently serves as president of Professional Cryogenic Metallurgy and Coatings in Cumming.

Preliminary numbers showed a wider victory margin, with Evans receiving 523 votes and Holton receiving 389 as of 9 p.m. Nov. 7.

Crane told the Forsyth County News he was thrilled with the win.

“We couldn’t be more excited,” he said. “All I can say is thank you to everyone who came out and we’re excited to be a part of this.”

Crane, a Georgia native, graduated from Roswell High School and attended the University of North Carolina.

He has lived in the city for about six years and said throughout the campaign his goal was to bring the city up-to-speed with other areas.

“You see a lot of things going on in the city of Cumming that seem like we’re kind of behind times and I wanted to get in there and help us catch up with the surrounding cities,” he previously told FCN. “If you go to any city around us, they have an area where they have shops and malls and all kinds of different things, and Cumming doesn’t have that.”

This was Crane’s first campaign for office.

Evans echoed Crane’s message of change Tuesday night.

“I’m very excited; excited to enact our vision on the future of city,” he said. “I’m very flattered and I think that the citizens of the city realize it’s time for a change, which is the whole thing I’ve been running on.”

Evans, who has lived in the city for about 12 years, grew up in Alpharetta and is a graduate of Chattahoochee High School. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee.

He previously told FCN he wants to bring more people into the city – residents and non-residents alike.

“I think the time is the absolute perfect time for change,” he said. “Mr. Holton, he’s a great guy, but he’s been there for what, 48 years? He’s done the best for the community, but it’s time for change. We’ve squandered some opportunities; we’ve missed some opportunities to increase revenue coming into the city. There are a lot of different ideas out there that we can do to capitalize on that.”